College and Research Libraries get l i b r a r i e s away f r o m t h e " m e d i e v a l state of i n d i v i d u a l acquisitiveness." M r . C o n e y emphasizes also t h e n e e d of w o r k o r per- f o r m a n c e b u d g e t s to show t h e r e l a t i o n of - l i b r a r y services to a p p r o p r i a t e u n i v e r s i t y activities. Discussion of this session was d e v o t e d to such m a t t e r s as travel f u n d s f o r scholars a n d f o r books (scholars g o i n g t o w h e r e collec- tions are, a n d possibly a l l o w i n g collections to follow m o v i n g scholars), rivalry a n d spe- cialization in collecting, t h e r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n financial p r o b l e m s a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l p r o b - lems of e d u c a t i o n , a n d t h e pressure f o r ex- p a n s i o n in t e r m s of f u t u r e needs. All of these a r e i m p o r t a n t p r o b l e m s f o r t h e con- s i d e r a t i o n of t h e p r o p o s e d commission. T h e fifth a n d final session was d e v o t e d to " T h e F u t u r e . " T h e s t a t e m e n t of t h e A A U by its Special C o m m i t t e e o n t h e P r o p o s e d S t u d y describes t h e n e e d f o r t h e study, its s p o n s o r s h i p , a n d scope. D r . P a u l Buck, newly a p p o i n t e d d i r e c t o r of t h e H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , p r o v i d e s t h e basic p a p e r , " L o o k i n g A h e a d . " D r . Buck takes a calm a t t i t u d e t o w a r d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e u n i - versity l i b r a r y . H e is critical of l i b r a r i a n s f o r h a v i n g t a k e n a n e g a t i v e a p p r o a c h t o t h e i r p r o b l e m s . H i s credo in e n c o u r a g i n g : (1) " t h e l i b r a r y is t h e h e a r t of e d u c a t i o n , " (2) " t h e l i b r a r y r e m a i n s t h e g r e a t conserva- t o r of l e a r n i n g , " (3) " q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n is impossible w i t h o u t a q u a l i t y l i b r a r y , " (4) "you c a n n o t h a v e a q u a l i t y f a c u l t y w i t h o u t a q u a l i t y l i b r a r y , " (5) " a l i b r a r y is vital to p r o p e r e x p l o i t a t i o n of o u r i n t e l l e c t u a l re- sources," a n d (6) " t h e l i b r a r y is essential t o m a i n t e n a n c e of f r e e access t o ideas a n d to t h e f u n c t i o n i n g of t h e u n t r a m m e l e d m i n d . " T h e s e , t o D r . Buck, a r e o b v i o u s t r u t h s , a n d l i b r a r i a n s m i g h t well e x p l o i t t h e m positively. M r . W i l l i a m s has f o r e s t a l l e d criticism of t h e discussions by i n d i c a t i n g t h e e x p l o r a t o r y n a t u r e of t h e c o n f e r e n c e . Most of t h e topics, if n o t all of t h e m , h a v e b e e n o n t h e a g e n d a of t h e A R L a n d A C R L g r o u p s f o r m a n y years. P r e s i d e n t M i l l e t t ' s o r i g i n a l observa- tions, w h e t h e r o r n o t they h a v e b e e n misin- t e r p r e t e d , h a v e h a d some v a l u e i n s t i r r i n g t h o u g h t s a n e w . D r . Buck's a l l a y i n g com- m e n t s s h o u l d b e t a k e n in t h e i r p r o p e r per- spective of t h e m a n y p r o b l e m s f a c i n g re- search l i b r a r i a n s . S p e c u l a t i o n a n d guesswork n e e d s u b s t a n t i a t i o n . — M a u r i c e F. Tauber. Serial Publications Serial Publications; Their Place and Treat- ment in Libraries. By A n d r e w D . O s b o r n . Chicago: A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1955. xiii, 309p. $6. W h a t e v e r else m a y b e said of this book, it m u s t be acclaimed as a l a n d m a r k i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e of p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s h i p . T h e m e r e fact of its h a v i n g b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r t h e best t h i n k i n g i n t h e serials r e a l m — h e r e t o - f o r e scattered i n i n n u m e r a b l e small u n m a n - a g e a b l e p a r c e l s — w o u l d h a v e b e e n a sufficient g i f t f o r l i b r a r i a n s y o u n g a n d old. B u t D r . O s b o r n does n o t leave m a t t e r s floating h i t h e r a n d yon as does a l t o g e t h e r t o o m u c h of o u r " i m p a r t i a l " p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t i n g . H e sets u p his p r o b l e m s , p r e s e n t s a l t e r n a t i v e p o i n t s of view, a n d in all b u t a f e w cases (where, ap- p a r e n t l y , t h e w e i g h t of e v i d e n c e is to h i m indecisive) h e m a k e s r e a s o n e d choices a m o n g a v a i l a b l e p r i n c i p l e s a n d practices. A w r i t e r c a n n o t be all t h i n g s to all read- ers. Some of us will c o m p l a i n t h a t t h e intro- d u c t o r y pages o n t h e history of serial p u b l i - c a t i o n s a r e skimpy a n d u n s a t i s f y i n g . T h e a u t h o r will r e p l y w i t h justification t h a t these pages w e r e d e s i g n e d o n l y to set t h e stage w i t h its m a g n i t u d e , c o m p l e x i t y a n d variety of p r o b l e m s . A f e w will say t h a t t h e a u t h o r ' s l e n g t h y q u o t a t i o n s f r o m source m a t e r i a l s a r e sometimes s u p e r f l u o u s f o r r e a d e r s w i t h back- g r o u n d a n d e x p e r i e n c e . M a n y will c o u n t e r w i t h t h e t h o u g h t t h a t such a c o m b i n a t i o n of a n t h o l o g y a n d t e x t is s u p e r b f o r t h e u n - i n i t i a t e d l i b r a r i a n s w h o m a k e u p a large p o p - u l a t i o n . O t h e r s will f i n d f a u l t w i t h t h e over- use of large research l i b r a r i e s f o r e x a m p l e a n d a u t h o r i t y . I n m i t i g a t i o n of this g e n r e of card-stacking, it m a y b e said t h a t o n l y in these libraries can o n e find t h e f u l l g a m u t of p r o b l e m s f r o m t h e simplest to t h e most c o m p l e x . Nevertheless, t h e e m p h a s i s o n large l i b r a r y p r a c t i c e is u n f o r t u n a t e because, in m a t t e r s r e l a t i n g to objectives, o r g a n i z a t i o n , division of l a b o r , a n d p e r s o n n e l t r a i n i n g , smaller i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e radically d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e i r larger a n d r i c h e r relatives. D r . O s b o r n was a w a r e of t h i s p r o b l e m , b u t l a b o r e d u n d e r t h e o b v i o u s difficulty of find- i n g e i t h e r a l i t e r a t u r e o r a well-advertised s o u n d e x p e r i e n c e u p o n w h i c h to d r a w to- w a r d a discussion of serial p u b l i c a t i o n s in MARCH, 1956 1.185 smaller libraries. I n a n a r e a like t h e selec- t i o n of serials, w h e r e small a n d m e d i u m - sized l i b r a r i e s h a v e h a d a d e q u a t e a t t e n t i o n , t h e a u t h o r does i n c o r p o r a t e a p p r o p r i a t e sources a n d discussions. So t h a t , if a r e a d e r finds it h a r d t o a p p r e c i a t e t h e e n t h u s i a s m for New Serial Titles as a selection tool, he will also f i n d a w e l l - r o u n d e d list of compila- tions w i t h w h i c h to w o r k . D r . O s b o r n ' s b o o k does n o t e x p l o r e f u l l y all l i b r a r y sizes, types a n d s i t u a t i o n s (what b o o k can?), b u t it does cover all phases of t h e serials axis save o n e — t h e t r a i n i n g of serials l i b r a r i a n s i n l i b r a r y schools a n d li- braries. A r u n - d o w n of its c h a p t e r titles shows m a t e r i a l s o n l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r serials w o r k ; serial selection; a c q u i s i t i o n s ; checking; a f u l l d e b a t e o n t h e visible i n d e x a n d its rivals; c a t a l o g i n g a n d classification; h o u s i n g a n d servicing; r e f e r e n c e a n d c i r c u l a t i o n ; b i n d i n g ; m i c r o r e p r o d u c t i o n ; r a r i t i e s a n d ar- chival m a t e r i a l ; p u b l i c a t i o n s of i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s ; r e p r i n t s ; a b s t r a c t i n g a n d in- d e x i n g ; a n d u n i o n lists. P u b l i c d o c u m e n t s , w h i c h a r e g e n e r a l l y serialized o r a m e n a b l e to serialization, a r e c o n s i d e r e d t h r o u g h o u t as a n i n t e g r a l p a r t of t h e serials c o n s t e l l a t i o n . A n a p p e n d e d section s a m p l e s a half dozen " w h o p p e r s " f r o m t h e gallery of t h e t h o u s a n d a n d o n e serial n i g h t m a r e s . T h e b o o k m a y n o t be explicit o n t h e aspect of t r a i n i n g serials l i b r a r i a n s , b u t it c e r t a i n l y c o n t a i n s m i g h t y i m p l i c a t i o n s a n d suggestions f o r li- b r a r y schools a n d s u p e r v i s i n g l i b r a r i a n s . I n a field so vast a n d various, so f u l l of n o o k s a n d c r a n n i e s of p r i v a t e o p i n i o n , t h e r e will i n e v i t a b l y b e a m u l t i t u d e of differences a m o n g l i b r a r i a n s w i t h t h e best of disposi- tions a n d i n t e n t i o n s . T h i s reviewer, of course, h a s a n u m b e r of his o w n p r e j u d i c e s a n d w o u l d like t o a i r a c o u p l e h e r e . H e w o u l d q u e s t i o n , f o r e x a m p l e , O s b o r n ' s clear p r e f - e r e n c e f o r g i v i n g catalogers h e g e m o n y over t h e r e f e r e n c e , a c q u i s i t i o n s a n d b i n d i n g proc- esses. T h e a u t h o r finds t h e e x p e r i e n c e of c a t a l o g i n g t o b e t h e o u t s t a n d i n g p r e p a r a t i o n f o r r e f e r e n c e w o r k as well as f o r m a k i n g de- cisions at o t h e r p o i n t s in t h e l i b r a r y l i f e of t h e serial. N o o n e will a r g u e t h e p o i n t t h a t in t h e course of d e s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g i n g li- b r a r i a n s d e v e l o p a r i c h f u n d of e x p e r t knowl- edge w h i c h is i n d i s p e n s a b l e t o t h e o t h e r f u n c t i o n s . I t is e q u a l l y t r u e , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e c o n t e x t of r e a d e r use offers t h e best type of e x p e r i e n c e f o r d e v e l o p i n g r e f e r e n c e li- b r a r i a n s . I t is t r u e also t h a t k n o w l e d g e s a n d skills g a i n e d in t h e c o n t e x t of r e f e r e n c e a n d research h a v e at least as r e l e v a n t a claim to l e a d e r s h i p in decision m a k i n g . O n e m a y say also t h a t t h e v a l u a b l e c a t a l o g i n g e x p e r i e n c e w h i c h O s b o r n c e l e b r a t e s is a c q u i r e d mostly by l i b r a r i a n s at s e m i n a l b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l de- p o t s like t h e L i b r a r y of Congress a n d H a r - v a r d U n i v e r s i t y , t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s u p o n w h i c h h e d r a w s so heavily in d e r i v i n g his o w n ideas. Similarly, t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n s of l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n p r e v e n t t h e a u t h o r f r o m f u l l y a p p r e c i a t i n g t h e m e r i t s of o r g a n i z i n g serials f u n c t i o n s a r o u n d t h e core of r e a d e r services. Some l i b r a r y s h o u l d be r e a d y t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h a c e n t r a l serials section, o p e r a t i n g w i t h a n d l o c a t e d a d j a c e n t to t h e r e f e r e n c e services, a n d m a n n e d by r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t h e cata- log, a c q u i s i t i o n s a n d r e f e r e n c e services. ( T h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a a n d N e w York U n i - versity w e r e at o n e t i m e o p e r a t i n g p a r t l y in this m a n n e r . ) H e r e i n lies t h e p r o m i s e of a n economically m a i n t a i n e d c e n t r a l r e c o r d to w h i c h each specialist a n d f u n c t i o n a r y can c o n t r i b u t e his v a l u a b l e p a r t w i t h o u t d i s t u r b - ing tested o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p a t t e r n s . T h e visible i n d e x , w h i c h D r . O s b o r n h a s all b u t deified in his b o o k , w o u f d t h e n b e t h e h u b of serials activity w i t h o u t b r e a k i n g d o w n c o n v e n t i o n a l d e p a r t m e n t a l lines. T h e i n f o r m a t i o n it c o n t a i n s w o u l d t h e n b e avail- a b l e always at t h e critical p o i n t of use; a n d t h e t i m e - c o n s u m i n g process of t e l e p h o n i n g to a n a c q u i s i t i o n s p o i n t w o u l d be a v o i d e d . N a t - urally, o t h e r f o r m s of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l inven- t i o n w o u l d e n t e r t h e a d a p t i n g of this p a t t e r n to s u b j e c t - d i v i d e d libraries. A p r o p o s of t h e visible i n d e x , t h i s r e v i e w e r does n o t feel t h a t its f u l l r o l e e m e r g e d in clear d e f i n i t i o n f r o m t h e m a n y pages d e v o t e d to it. A t times it a p p e a r e d to b e a m a s t e r r e c o r d of e v e r y t h i n g a l i b r a r y k n e w a b o u t its serial collection. A t o t h e r times it seemed a c u r r e n t w o r k i n g rec- o r d to b e c o m p l e m e n t e d by "S-cards" (hold- ings record) in t h e shelf list, in t h e p u b l i c catalog, a n d / o r in a serials catalog. D o u b t l e s s t h e r e is n o o n e a n d o n l y course to recom- m e n d in such m a t t e r s ; b u t we w o u l d h a v e a p p r e c i a t e d k n o w i n g t h e a u t h o r ' s c o n c e p t i o n of a m o d e l catalog a n d r e c o r d system. W e w o u l d also h a v e l i k e d t o h a v e his firm conclusions i n t h e c h a p t e r o n b i n d i n g , w h e r e i n t o o m a n y m o o t q u e s t i o n s r e m a i n 186 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES u n r e s o l v e d . W e find, in t h e same category, t h e p l a g u i n g q u e s t i o n of w h e t h e r to k e e p a m o n o g r a p h i c series t o g e t h e r o r to classify its c o m p o n e n t p a r t s separately. O s b o r n says t h a t t h e p r e s u m p t i o n is in f a v o r of scattering a series "whose c o m p o n e n t p a r t s s h o u l d ob- viously b e o n classified shelves by a u t h o r a n d s u b j e c t . " W h a t makes such m a t t e r s "obvi- ous"? D o we d i s r e g a r d b i n d i n g a n d classifica- t i o n costs a l o n g w i t h p r o b a b l e f r e q u e n c y a n d m a n n e r of use if a m o n o g r a p h i c w o r k in series looks like a m o n o g r a p h i c separate? W e c o u l d use some brass-tack d e f i n i t i o n h e r e as well as in t h e t r e a t m e n t of series e n t r i e s o n pages 166-69. A n d , alas, t h e m a t t e r of dis- p l a y i n g c u r r e n t u n b o u n d serials! D o we page, o r pay f o r r e p l a c e m e n t s — m a n y of w h i c h a r e n o t even a v a i l a b l e to b e p a i d for? M a n y l i b r a r i a n s h a v e a r r i v e d at t h e sad for- m u l a t i o n t h a t those periodicals w h i c h a r e most eligible f o r display s h o u l d b e k e p t o n closed shelves. O r , n e a r e r despair, you m a k e a v a i l a b l e o n shelves a n d tables only w h a t you w o u l d discard! B u t t h e n , a g a i n , if D r . O s b o r n h a d an- swered all q u e s t i o n s a n d m a d e p a t decisions f o r us in all instances, h e w o u l d h a v e de- p r i v e d us of f r e e d o m of choice in m a t t e r s w h i c h must, f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , r e m a i n flex- ible. W e a r e g r a t e f u l t o h i m f o r this a n d f o r t h e s p l e n d i d c o m m o n sense a n d b a l a n c e dis- p l a y e d in w e i g h i n g a v a i l a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e s . T h i s a u t h o r has risen a b o v e e m p t y rigidities a n d h o l l o w p r o f e s s i o n a l talk w h i c h some- t i m e s r e v e r b e r a t e s so l o u d l y as to p r e v e n t o u r h e a r i n g ourselves t h i n k . H e has r e f u s e d m i d w i f e a t t e n d a n c e to m o u n t a i n s l a b o r i n g to b e a r those ugly l i t t l e m i c e w h i c h f r i g h t e n t i m i d y o u n g l i b r a r i a n s away f r o m " o p e r a t i o n serials." I f , as O s b o r n indicates, t h e serial is dis- p l a c i n g t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l b o o k f r o m t h e cen- t e r of t h e r e f e r e n c e stage, it is t i m e f o r re- o r i e n t a t i o n . T h i s b o o k a n d its e x c e l l e n t bib- l i o g r a p h y c o n s t i t u t e a f o u n d a t i o n o n w h i c h we can rest f o r m a n y a y e a r . — S i d n e y Ditzion, The City College of New York. « The Harvard Library Report on the Harvard University Library: a Study of Present and Prospective Prob- lems. By Keyes D. Metcalf. C a m b r i d g e : H a r v a r d University L i b r a r y , 1955. 131 p. $2.50. T h i s r e p o r t is p e r h a p s t h e last f r o m H a r - v a r d to b e a r t h e n a m e of Keyes M e t c a l f — t h e last of a l o n g a n d d i s t i n g u i s h e d series t h a t d o c u m e n t t h e r e c e n t history of t h e world's greatest university l i b r a r y . N e v e r has a n y o t h e r university l i b r a r y told its story so fully, so conscientiously, a n d w i t h such b e n e f i t to t h e l i b r a r y p r o f e s s i o n — i t s goals, its p r o b l e m s , its needs, a n d its m e t h o d s . T o a p p r e c i a t e t h e m a g n i t u d e of this achieve- m e n t a n d to see this r e p o r t in its p r o p e r perspective, o n e s h o u l d look first to t h e last s u p p l e m e n t , w h i c h is " A Selected Bib- l i o g r a p h y " of affairs of t h e H a r v a r d library. T h i s b i b l i o g r a p h y is impressive. T h e Harvard Library Bulletin is a significant f e a t u r e . A l t h o u g h most of t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s o r i g i n a t e d d u r i n g M e t c a l f ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , a few of t h e o l d e r classics, such as C u r r i e r ' s "Selective C a t a l o g i n g at t h e H a r v a r d Li- b r a r y " (1924) a r e i n c l u d e d . A m o n g t h e fifty o r so titles t h a t follow, t h e r e a r e O s b o r n ' s " T h e Crisis in C a t a l o g i n g , " a n d all t h e f a m i l i a r works of M e t c a l f ' s o t h e r colleagues — E d w i n W i l l i a m s , D a v i d W e b e r , W i l l i a m J a c k s o n , Susan H a s k i n s , a n d P h i l i p McNiff. Yet Metcalf's o w n c o n t r i b u t i o n s d o m i n a t e t h e list—his w o r k o n a c q u i s i t i o n , space, fi- n a n c e , c o o p e r a t i o n a n d specialization, a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . T o h i m t h e c r e d i t is largely d u e f o r this e x t r a o r d i n a r y r e c o r d of t h e H a r v a r d l i b r a r y d u r i n g o n e of its most critical periods, w h e n it finally f a c e d t h e o v e r w h e l m i n g p r o b l e m of g r o w t h . T h i s r e p o r t is t h e last of t h e series as f a r as M e t c a l f ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n is c o n c e r n e d ; it is h o p e d t h a t his successors will carry o n . I n d e e d , this last official s t a t e m e n t was w r i t t e n f o r his successors, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e n e w d i r e c t o r of t h e library. I t deals w i t h t h e s i t u a t i o n of t h e l i b r a r y as h e l e f t it, "its weak spots a n d t h e things t h a t m i g h t h a v e b e e n d o n e o r s h o u l d h a v e b e e n d o n e , b u t h a v e n o t . " I t also discusses " i n some d e t a i l t h e library's financial s i t u a t i o n a n d its needs f o r t h e f u t u r e . " T h e c h a p t e r o n a c q u i s i t i o n summarizes t h e f a m i l i a r p e r e n n i a l p r o b l e m s t h a t r e l a t e to t h e b u i l d i n g of t h e collections: t h e effect of a c q u i s i t i o n o n s u b s e q u e n t l i b r a r y costs, t h e f o r m u l a t i o n of a n a c q u i s i t i o n p r o g r a m , t h e d i l e m m a of d u p l i c a t i o n , a n d t h e de- MARCH, 1956 1.187